At present it's hard to imagine, but someday the Trump era will end. It is unlikely to end quietly. We can anticipate considerable turmoil, spite and division. Some zealots have floated unsubtle hints of bloodshed. We discount them at our peril.
But however it ends, someday President Donald Trump will leave office, and we'll be obliged to consider how we allowed ourselves to be led by a man who has such little regard for the processes and norms of democracy, decency and the rule of law.
The question is worth asking because it is essential to a larger question: After Trump, will we be able to recommit ourselves to the ideals of our founders, to re-establish the integrity and dignity of our own governance and regain the respect of the world?
Of course, it's a mistake to oversimplify and sanitize our history. The mantle of moral leadership has at times been borne awkwardly by our exceptional nation; we haven't always deserved it.
In fact, any serious thinking about our country has to acknowledge the two shameful pillars of its origination: the destruction of the nations that had lived in America long before 1492 and the enslavement of the people who did much of the hard labor of building the country.
But even in the light of this history, shame doesn't feel like a particularly useful emotion. Our founders were brilliant and courageous, but their minds largely reflected the times into which they were born. For Virginia planters it was as difficult to imagine full equality for black people as it was to imagine that someday a black man might become president.
Out of this exploitation and oppression, however, the founders managed to create a nation that rejected monarchy in favor of rule by the people, a nation based on an idea_however inadequately realized_rather than on race or religion.
Our founding was remarkable, but it was only the beginning of a long, hard slog toward the full implementation of the American Revolution's best aspirations. Indeed, its highest goals have not been reached.
But World War II showed the world that we were willing and able to mobilize to defeat fascism and intolerance. After the war we worked hard to rebuild rather than exploit the defeated in the interest of nurturing future world peace. We supported, encouraged and invented the institutions and organizations that foster stability, tolerance and the rule of law. We resisted and eventually outlasted the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union.
We made a lot of mistakes, but whatever our faults, America has largely managed to gain and maintain international respect. Here's how Ronald Reagan put it: "America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere."
And, indeed, in a park in Budapest you can find a life-size statue of Reagan, whose extended bronze hand is kept shiny by the caresses of grateful Hungarians.
This is the reputation that we have enjoyed. Our standing among nations is threatened by a president who is contemptuous of international accords, intolerant toward differences among individuals and groups of people and oblivious to the principled application of the rule of law.
How do we begin to repair the damage once the Trump era has ended? Compensation for the backsliding will require drastic, positive steps. We will have to emphatically reject the rise of autocracy that has been abetted by the success of Donald Trump. We must encourage tolerance and human rights. We will need to take the lead on climate change. We must work harder to provide health care for everyone. We will need to remedy the wealth and income inequality that is so deadly to democracy. And we will need to begin to look for ways to stop killing ourselves with firearms.
The current administration has little interest in these concerns, and it is contemptuous of our international reputation. When Trump is gone, we will have to set about repairing the damage; the sooner we begin, the better.
